Dear Members:

Today, March 22, at 11 am, there was a conference call with Julie Chapman, Chief Deputy Director at the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) , regarding the proposal by NuPhysica being supported by the Governor's Administration. Pam Manwiller, State Director of Operations of our Local, and I attended the call. The proposal (see attached) calls for the University of California (UC) to take over from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) some health care services by way of an operation unit created by UC Health specifically for inmate care services.

Ms. Chapman reported that this proposal would need to be reviewed by DPA, the Legislature, the Courts and the Unions and that UC has not fully bought into the proposal which suggests the possibility that it may not be implemented at all. Nevertheless, it was mentioned that there is a goal of implementing items mentioned on page 6, section 4, by May 1st which are mainly operational procedures and the implementation of Phase I by the end of the year (see page 10) which applies to CDCR in the Northern Regions.

The main professions to be affected will be Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists and Psychiatrists. Other professions, including some in our bargaining unit, would remain on the CDCR payroll but might be managed by the new UC operating unit (see chart page 11).

My take is that none of this proposal is finalized and that implementation will take a very long time however we will remain vigilant and act on new developments on behalf of our members as they occur. Since the Governor's Administration is on its last lap, it's hard to imagine that this major changeover could occur quickly but stranger things have happened.

Ms. Salzman offered to answer further questions by herself or members of the DPA staff. I will update you as I hear more..

In Unity,

Steve Shanahan, President
AFSCME 2620
s.r.shanahan@att.net
(510) 333-1146

Dear Members:

Some of you may have heard about a proposal by the Schwarzenegger administration to overhaul the medical care system for inmates at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) by converting some of our members to University of California employees. Click here for a copy of the proposal.

We want you to know that your Union is aware of this situation which could have consequences for our members. We're working with other Unions and our Lobbyists to find out the latest information. There is a conference call on Monday with the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) that I will participate in which will provide more perspective on the likelihood of this proposal being implemented and the timeline. There is a consensus that this conversion would take a long time to implement and will involve the Legislature and the Unions however we want to be prepared for all scenarios.

Be assured that our Union will stay current with this situation and will update you as we hear more. Click here for the article from the LA Times.

In Unity,

Steve Shanahan, President
AFSCME 2620
s.r.shanahan@att.net
(510) 333-1146